Yesterday I needed a short distraction at the office, so I pulled out my little notebook and paged through all the thoughts I jotted down a couple months ago.  Though I recommend this sort of review for everyone, I happen to have a terrible memory.  Reading my ideas from January can be like having them for the first time all over again, just from a different angle.

In early February, I wrote down a question in response to who-knows-what and stumbled across it in yesterday's reading: "do you more commonly read photos as social commentary or 'captured moments,' design elements?"

Portraits have invaded my mind of late, so I  applied this snippet there.  Portrait photography presents a personal challenge for me in that the subjects often look to the photographer for guidance.  I don't want to have that upper hand, as I am more interested in the "captured moments" and would rather allow natural poses to reveal themselves gradually.

Then again, one of my favorite portrait photographers is Richard Avedon, and his photos are far from candid or photojournalistic.  At the same time, Avedon evoked some essential truth from his subjects that seems inherently them despite his direction.

While I've always thought an effective commentary relied on candid, photojournalistic portraits, the photographer's role is more broad than that.  For example, Avedon took on a far more aggressive role than an invisible observer: he actively identified and pulled defining qualities from his subjects, often through touchy conversations.  Maybe this could be done in the passive style I've taken to in the past, but maybe it couldn't.  I'm beginning to realize I have to take the reigns at some point if I want to make a switch from inanimate objects to people as subjects of my work.

My point is, "commentary" and "captured [authentic] moments" aren't mutually exclusive.  Many portriat photographers build a very deliberate image from the human subject, and I'd like to explore this further.  As I said in my last post, though, I'm an introvert.  I have trouble building normal friend-relationships with people, let alone forming a precise photographer-subject relationship with people I may or may not have an existing connection with.  It's worth a try, though, and maybe -- in the same way that introverted people sometimes make the best actors -- it will be more comfortable than I expect.  Either way, I'm eager to find out how to achieve natural, engaging portraits with a consistent aesthetic style -- and I'd love to hear your thoughts on different approaches you've seen or tried.

Image copyright Richard Avedon.  View more at http://www.richardavedon.com/